Modern
physicists haven’t been able to explain why outer regions of galaxies rotate
much faster than they should based on the mass and energy of the stars,
planets, interstellar gasses, and other matter within them. The best
explanation thus far for this strange gravitational behavior has been dark
matter, a type of matter that we can’t see and that we haven’t really discovered yet.

Verlinde has a different
explanation for these deviations in motion, and he calls his new
theory emergent gravity. In his theory, gravity is an emergent phenomenon and
not a fundamental force. As such, it’s a product of fundamental
bits of information that are stored with the structure of spacetime itself.
When those fundamental bits change, gravity emerges.

“We
have evidence that this new view of gravity actually agrees with the
observations,”says Verlinde in a Delta ITP press release. Indeed, using his theory, he
has produced accurate predictions of the velocities of stars rotating around
the core of the Milky Way and stars in other galaxies without any need for
dark matter. By including an adaptation of the holographic principle within his theory, Verlinde is
also able to account for dark energy, the unseen force causing the universe to
expand.

A
NEW PARADIGM

Our
current understanding of gravity is largely based on Einstein’s theory
of general relativity. While that theory can explain a lot of the behavior
of our universe, it doesn’t hold up when applied to quantum physics, which
becomes evident in extreme situations like near a black hole or during the Big
Bang. Therefore, Verlinde and many other physicists think that our theory
of gravity needs to be updated.

“Many
theoretical physicists like me are working on a revision of the theory, and some
major advancements have been made,” says Verlinde. “We might be standing on the
brink of a new scientific revolution that will radically change our views on
the very nature of space, time and gravity.”

Of
course, Verlinde’s theory is still just that — theoretical — and it
does have its limitations, including an inability to explain
large-scale effects like galaxies clustering together. However, it is a
plausible path toward reconciling the two pillars of modern physics,
Einstein’s theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics, and therefore
worth thinking about…even if it might make your brain hurt.